DISPLACEABLE TISSUE: A CLINICAL CHALLENGE FOR A PROSTHODONTIST

Abstract

A fibrous or flabby ridge is a superficial area of mobile soft tissue affecting the maxillary or mandi bular alveolar ridges. Restoration of such ridges often requires s pecial consideration in impression making. Masticat ory forces can displace this mobile denture-bearing tissue, leadin g to altered denture positioning and loss of periph eral seal. Forces exerted during the act of impression making can res ult in distortion of the mobile tissue. Unless mana ged appropriately by special impression techniques, suc h ‘flabby ridges’ adversely affect the support, ret ention and stability of complete dentures. This paper describe s a technique especially applicable for mandibular edentulous flabby ridges. The choice of the impression materia l, as well as the design of the impression tray, fo cuses on preventing distortion of the displaceable residual ridges during impression making. The use of this te chnique helps in maintaining the contour and capturing the detail of the tissues, as well as in accurately determini ng the extent of the muccobuccal denture extensions.